It's 3am, do you know where your son is?
by panfan87
Summary: Maddie hasn't heard from her son in hours. And to a parent, not knowing is the worst fear in the world. [Rated T for mild swearing only]
1. It's 3am, do you know where your son is?

**It's 3am, do you know where your son is? **

A fic featuring the ultimate mom, Maddie Fenton. Enjoy!

Maddie sighed, took another sip of coffee, and glanced at the clock. 3:24am. The coffee wasn't the only thing keeping her awake. There was also the worry. The aching fearful worry that comes by not knowing where your child is in the wee hours of the morning. It was like some anti-drugs commercial come to life. She drummed her fingers on the table and took another sip. His curfew had been 10pm. She had stopped trying to call him at 12:35am, when the characteristic voicemail message, _Hi it's Danny, if you're not a ghost, then leave a message! _was replaced by a warning that the inbox was full. The first time she had heard the message, she chuckled. By the fifth time, it only made her mad. Now, she'd give anything to hear it again, some evidence of his voice, some sign that he was...okay.

Maddie took another sip of coffee.

None of her text messages had been answered either. Weren't teenagers supposed to be glued to their phones 24/7? Hadn't he once accused her of being unprepared by not having a cell phone? Yet he refused to answer. Or couldn't answer. No, she shouldn't, _couldn't _think like that. This wasn't the first time he had missed curfew. And he had always came home.

Another sip. 3:27am.

She had called Sam, and was told that her son was with Tucker. She had called Tucker and was told that her son was with Sam. She knew calling their parents wouldn't help, it would only add to the collective worry. Yes, if Sam and Tucker were lying, then their parents would be of no help. So she had decided to wait. Wait for him to finally come home.

Another glance at the clock. 3:29am.

Maddie usually didn't hear when Danny came home in the evenings. Her earplugs to block out her husband's snoring were the complete-noise-blocking kind. They had to be if she wanted any sleep next to that man and his powerful lungs. But Jack had taken Jazz to visit colleges this week, so Maddie had lent her earplugs to her grateful daughter. Without the noise filters, Maddie had been more tuned to the sounds of the night. Including the sound of her son arriving home well-past curfew. But never this late. Maddie hadn't called her husband yet, she didn't want to worry him. Any minute now, her Danny would walk through the doorway with a perfectly valid excuse. Yep, any minute now.

Maddie took another sip of coffee. 3:33am.

She glanced back at the door. Still no Danny. She strained her ears, vainly hoping that, if she tried hard enough, maybe she could hear a jiggling of the doorknob, or even a padding of feet coming up the drive.

Nothing. Nothing but the soft click of the wall clock, counting the seconds one by one.

_Tick-tock-tick-tock._ 3:34am.

_Tick-tock-tick-tock._ 3:35am.

_Tick-tock-tick-_BANG!

Maddie jolted up, knocking her chair over and spilling her coffee. She placed a hand over her racing heart as her mind tried to place the unexpected sound. She whipped her head around at the sound of more banging and clanging. It seemed to be close, seemed to be coming from _below_ her? The lab!

She ran to the doorway, pulled at the handle, and fell backwards as the door refused to budge. It was locked. How could someone be in the lab if it was locked? How could someone be in there at all without her noticing? The banging continued and she could make out mumbled voices. She ran back to the kitchen and opened one of the cabinets, her hand searching for the extra lab key she had hidden there. It was the one she could use when Jack lost the other one.

Finding it, Maddie rushed back to the door and fiddled with the key, finally wrenching open the door and bounding down the stairs.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Maddie gasped. the lab was a wreck. Broken weapons. scattered papers, and green ectoplasmic goo plastered over almost everything. In the middle of the disaster zone was the ghost-boy, that _Inviso-Bill _or _Danny Phantom _or whatever he called himself. He was bent over, panting heavily with hands on his knees. Amidst the chaos, he didn't seem to have noticed her arrival on the scene. The boy then reached over and hit a button on one of the consoles.

"And stay in there this time, you creep," he shouted to know one in particular as the doors to the ghost portal shut. Maddie continued to gape at the scene, worry about her son replaced by curiosity and a bit of anger regarding what the _hell_ had just transpired in _her _laboratory. Before she could speak up to let loose her anger, she was stymied by the next thing the ghost said.

"Argh, I hope that didn't wake up mom. I'm going to be in so much trouble if she knows I missed curfew," Phantom exclaimed, cringing as he glanced around the room. He glanced at the lab's wall clock. "Dammit, 3:42am. I'm so grounded."

Maddie watched as his eyes wandered from wall to wall, his shoulders sagging as he continued to look around. "Mom is gonna be so pissed about this mess, it'll take forever to clean, stupid ghosts ruining my life, I - _shit_." he stopped his mumbled rant when his eyes finally landed on the woman. Maddie narrowed her eyes at the ghost.

"Care to explain?" she spat, hoping her venomous tone belied that fact that she was more than a little afraid of dealing with the ghost when her weapons supply appeared to be either broken or covered in goo. "And watch your language young man."

Phantom seemed taken aback by that last remark, then winced. "I, uh, well see, I know this looks bad, but I was fighting this ghost and he's the one who destroyed the lab, not me. Well, I mean I did a little bit, but that was only to catch him and send him back to the ghost zone, and I'm sorry, and I'll clean it up, I promise!" he explained so fast that Maddie barely caught it all. Maddie just continued to stare, trying to process the whole situation. There was a ghost, no multiple ghosts, in her house, in _her lab_ for pete's sake! And he had mentioned his mom. Did he really have a mom and a curfew? Was he some woman's son? Some ghost's son?

And what about her own son? She stole a quick glance at the clock before returning her gaze to the ghost. 3:45am.

Had Danny perhaps snuck in while she was down here? Part of her was desperate to run upstairs to his room, in the hope that he'd be there, already fast asleep, safe and sound. But she didn't move. Mother and ghost continued to stare at eachother.

_Tick-tock-tick-tock._

It was Phantom who broke the silence. "Um, you're not going to waste me right? I mean, you haven't shot at me yet so…" he trailed off.

_Tick-tock-tick-tock._

"So, I'm just gonna leave now, if that's okay. I mean unless you want me to clean up now, cuz I can do that, but I'm sort of tired and I'd rather just do it in the morning. If, you know, that's alright by you? You know, if you promise not to 'rip me apart molecule by molecule'," he said, using air-quotes for the last phrase.

Maddie didn't reply, just continued to stare at the ghost.

"Ooookay, so I'm going to take that as a 'sure, go ahead, see you tomorrow.'" And he took off, flying through the ceiling.

Maddie sighed and took another look at the clock. 3:49am.

This night had gotten strange. And there was no way she was letting Jack know that she had just let the ghost-boy wreck their lab and get away with it. It was a good thing Jack and Jazz still had a few more days planned for their trip. Maybe the ghost really would show up tomorrow to clean the lab and she didn't need Jack to make a bigger mess of things. Although _why_ an evil ghost would even offer at all was beyond her. She sighed again, too tired to think about ghost-boys and too worried about her own missing boy. So sh switched off the light, and trudged back up the stairs.

She reached the kitchen, sat back down and took another sip of her now lukewarm coffee. How much longer would she have to wait for - _crash._ Maddie jolted upright. More ghosts? No, the noises seemed to be coming from upstairs this time. Danny!

Maddie rushed towards the stairs, taking two at a time until she reached her son's room. The banging and rustling was definitely coming from inside. Resisting the urge to thrust the door open, she opted for a knock instead.

"Danny, sweetie, is that you?"

The rustling stopped and she heard his footsteps come closer. Then the door opened and there stood her boy, looking sheepish. Her precious, blue-eyed, raven-haired, in a world of trouble, grounded for the next month, baby boy.

"Mom, I mrghm," Danny's words were muffled as his mother pulled him into a tight embrace, squeeszing him hard. After a full minute, Danny finally wiggled free and gasped for air. "Geez mom, you nearly strangled me! Is everything alright?" He looked at her, his concerned face matching her own.

Maddie sighed once more. It was late, there wasn't any point in pushing the issue, not when her snore-free bed was calling. "I'm just so glad you're safe. Late and in _sooo_ much trouble," she gently slapped him on the back of his head, "but safe." She gave him a reassuring smile.

At her change in demeanor, Danny grinned. "How much trouble are we talking about exactly?"

Maddie thought for a moment then smirked, "For starters, tomorrow you're helping an evil ghost clean the lab. We'll figure out the rest in the morning. G'night Danny!" Ignoring the stunned expression on his face, she turned and headed towards her bedroom. After the night she'd had, Maddie eager to let her exhaustion take over. Now that she knew her son was safe of course.

Right before slipping into blissful sleep, she stole a final glance at the digital clock at her bedside. 3:59am. She smiled. Maybe a 4am curfew wasn't a bad idea.

**A/N - I bet you thought this was going to be a revelation fic! Well, I originally intended for that to be the case, but I liked how this turned out instead. Maybe I'll write another version with the revelation. Instead think of this as a little Maddie angst, because goodness knows there's enough Danny angst out there. **

**If you enjoyed the story, let me know, Ciao!**


	2. Ghosts go bump in the night

**Ghosts go bump in the night**

A fic featuring the ultimate mom, Maddie Fenton.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Okay, Okay, I couldn't resist. I went back to my original idea for this story. 

This starts _exactly _the same as my fic "**It's 3am, do you know where your son is?**" but with a different ending. So, if you read the previous chapter, then you can skip down to where I've marked how the story diverges. If you didn't read that, that's fine, just start at the beginning here.

Enjoy!

o-o-o

Maddie sighed, took another sip of coffee, and glanced at the clock. 3:24am. The coffee wasn't the only thing keeping her awake. There was also the worry. The aching fearful worry that comes by not knowing where your child is in the wee hours of the morning. It was like some anti-drugs commercial come to life. She drummed her fingers on the table and took another sip. His curfew had been 10pm. She had stopped trying to call him at 12:35am, when the characteristic voicemail message, _Hi it's Danny, if you're not a ghost, then leave a message! _was replaced by a warning that the inbox was full. The first time she had heard the message, she chuckled. By the fifth time, it only made her mad. Now, she'd give anything to hear it again, some evidence of his voice, some sign that he was...okay.

Maddie took another sip of coffee.

None of her text messages had been answered either. Weren't teenagers supposed to be glued to their phones 24/7? Hadn't he once accused her of being unprepared by not having a cell phone? Yet he refused to answer. Or couldn't answer. No, she shouldn't, _couldn't _think like that. This wasn't the first time he had missed curfew. And he had always came home.

Another sip. 3:27am.

She had called Sam, and was told that her son was with Tucker. She had called Tucker and was told that her son was with Sam. She knew calling their parents wouldn't help, it would only add to the collective worry. Yes, if Sam and Tucker were lying, then their parents would be of no help. So she had decided to wait. Wait for him to finally come home.

Another glance at the clock. 3:29am.

Maddie usually didn't hear when Danny came home in the evenings. Her earplugs to block out her husband's snoring were the complete-noise-blocking kind. They had to be if she wanted any sleep next to that man and his powerful lungs. But Jack had taken Jazz to visit colleges this week, so Maddie had lent her earplugs to her grateful daughter. Without the noise filters, Maddie had been more tuned to the sounds of the night. Including the sound of her son arriving home well-past curfew. But never this late. Maddie hadn't called her husband yet, she didn't want to worry him. Any minute now, her Danny would walk through the doorway with a perfectly valid excuse. Yep, any minute now.

Maddie took another sip of coffee. 3:33am.

She glanced back at the door. Still no Danny. She strained her ears, vainly hoping that, if she tried hard enough, maybe she could hear a jiggling of the doorknob, or even a padding of feet coming up the drive.

Nothing. Nothing but the soft click of the wall clock, counting the seconds one by one.

Tick-tock-tick-tock. 3:34am.

Tick-tock-tick-tock. 3:35am.

Tick-tock-tick-BANG!

Maddie jolted up, knocking her chair over and spilling her coffee. She placed a hand over her racing heart as her mind tried to place the unexpected sound. She whipped her head around at the sound of more banging and clanging. It seemed to be close, seemed to be coming from _below_ her? The lab!

She ran to the doorway, pulled at the handle, and fell backwards as the door refused to budge. It was locked. How could someone be in the lab if it was locked? How could someone be in there at all without her noticing? The banging continued and she could make out mumbled voices. She ran back to the kitchen and opened one of the cabinets, her hand searching for the extra lab key she had hidden there. It was the one she could use when Jack lost the other one.

Finding it, Maddie rushed back to the door and fiddled with the key, finally wrenching open the door and bounding down the stairs.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Maddie gasped. the lab was a wreck. Broken weapons. scattered papers, and green ectoplasmic goo plastered over almost everything. In the middle of the disaster zone was the ghost-boy, that _Inviso-Bill _or _Danny Phantom _or whatever he called himself. He was bent over, panting heavily with hands on his knees. Amidst the chaos, he didn't seem to have noticed her arrival on the scene. The boy then reached over and hit a button on one of the consoles.

"And stay in there this time, you creep," he shouted to know one in particular as the doors to the ghost portal shut. Maddie continued to gape at the scene, worry about her son replaced by curiosity and a bit of anger regarding what the _hell_ had just transpired in _her _laboratory. Before she could speak up to let loose her anger, she was stymied by the next thing the ghost said.

"Argh, I hope that didn't wake up mom. I'm going to be in so much trouble if she knows I missed curfew," Phantom exclaimed, cringing as he glanced around the room. He glanced at the lab's wall clock. "Dammit, 3:42am. I'm so grounded."

**-o-o-o-o-o- new part begins here -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

Maddie watched as his eyes wandered from wall to wall, his shoulders sagging as he continued to look around. "Mom is gonna be so pissed about this mess, it'll take forever to clean-up. Stupid ghosts ruining my life." He sighed dramatically. Maddie was about to speak up, but instead stumbled backwards as two white rings appeared around the ghost's waist, forcing her to shut her eyes to the sudden light in the darkened lab. When she opened her eyes again, she let out a gasp. Where, not a moment ago a ghost in a black jumpsuit had been standing, now stood a teenager with dark hair, jeans, and a t-shirt.

"D-danny?" whispered Maddie, her mind trying to process where Phantom had gone and how in the world her son had appeared in his place.

"Shit! Mom!" Danny whirled around, his eyes wide.

Maddie felt herself losing balance. Her mind was moving too fast, she couldn't even focus on remaining standing up. As she felt herself give in to gravity, Danny rushed over and gently helped her down until she was sitting on the bottom step.

"Mom?"

Maddie could only gaze ahead, blinking as she focused on the lab's wall clock. 3:43am.

"Mom, please say something…" pleaded Danny. "Look, I can explain okay. See there was this accident and I -"

At the word accident, Maddie was pulled out of her stupor. She whipped around and gave her son a worried look. "Accident? What accident? Oh God, Danny, are you okay? What happened? Was it a ghost? Was it Phantom?"

"Wait, what? No, I mean yes. I'm fine. The accident was a while ago. When the portal started working." He didn't answer the second part of her question.

Maddie narrowed her eyes. "That was over a year ago, young man. What happened? What does that have to do with..." she gestured towards the middle of the lab, unsure of how to describe what she had seen.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you. Only it's not, well it's not easy." Danny threw his head back and let out a groan, "why did Jazz have to be gone _now._"

"Look Mister, this has nothing to do with your sister.I want to know what's going on with _you_." She looked at him. "It may not be easy, but I sense that this is important. So talk."

Danny dropped his head to his knees. "Just please don't be mad, okay?" he mumbled.

"Danny, right now I'm bordering on furious. And I'm just so, so, confused. And tired. So yes, I'm mad. But mostly confused." She sighed as he buried his head deeper into his knees. "But all those emotions are because I love you, sweetie. You're my baby, and I want you to be okay, to be safe, to be happy. Even if you come home," she glanced at the clock again, "five hours and forty-six minutes past curfew, I still love you."

At her words, Danny raised his head and looked at her. "Really? You mean it? No matter what, you'll still love me?"

Maddie laughed and shook her head, "Of course! I don't know what could have made you think otherwise."

Danny rolled his eyes, "it was probably the 'let's rip him apart molecule by molecule' and 'no jack, let's dissect him instead for the sake of science'" he said, mimicking her and Jack's voices.

Maddie blinked at him. "When did your father and I ever say that about you. We said that about Phan-" she stopped. "Danny. What exactly are you saying?" she asked, a hint of panic in her voice.

Danny sighed again and mumbled to himself, "c'mon, just rip it off like a band-aid." He then turned to her and his demeanor turned serious.

"I'm half-ghost mom. The accident made me half-ghost. Phantom and I - we're the same person."

He stared at her expectantly, obviously trying to gauge her reaction before continuing.

Maddie, however, didn't know how to respond. She didn't even know what to think. What her son was saying didn't make sense. _Half-ghost_? There was no such thing! And to claim that he and Phantom were the same _person_! Phantom was a ghost, not a person! And yet… She had seen Phantom disappear and be replaced by Danny. If what her son said was true, then Danny didn't so much as replace Phantom as he was Phantom. That Phantom didn't vanish; he _turned into_ her son! She blinked. No, the whole notion was preposterous! Her son, a _half-ghost_? What did that even mean? How could something like that be possible?

Taking his mother's silence as invitation to continue, Danny tried to explain further, as his eyes focused on a small green slug moving slowly across the tile floor.

"See the accident with the portal, it messed up my DNA or something. I mean, I was in the dang thing when it turned on." Maddie's eyes widened at that, but he didn't pause his story. "The accident gave me ghost powers. More than that really. I can change, well, forms, I guess. Into Phantom. I'm not really sure how it works, though. Something about my ghostly core I think. But it's not like Phantom's not me. I mean he is me. I mean it's just me. I mean, I don't become someone else when I'm a ghost, I just, can do cool stuff. Really cool stuff. And I look different."

He raised his gaze again to meet hers. "But it's still the same me, mom. When I'm Phantom, it's still the same me, I want you to know that. I'm not being overshadowed or possessed or anything like that." He raked his hand through his hair.

"And I do good stuff, mom. Or I try to at least. All that bad stuff you think I did, I didn't do. None of that was my fault, I swear. I try to protect people from ghosts, and put those ghosts back in the ghost zone." He winced as he glanced around the wrecked lab, "sometimes there's a little collateral damage though. I'm really sorry about that, I'll clean it all up before Dad gets back, I promise."

Maddie cleared her throat, "yes, well, you can do that tomorrow." She looked at the clock. 3:51am. "Well, technically later today I guess."

Danny fell quiet and returned his gaze to the floor.

She placed a hand on her son's shoulder. "You're serious, Danny, aren't you." It wasn't a question. "This 'half-ghost' thing isn't some story you've made up or some trick, right?"

Maddie still wasn't quite sure she believed him yet, it was just too _strange_. And coming from her, that was saying something. But Danny obviously believed it and wanted her to believe it too. He wanted her to accept the story. To accept him.

"Yeah mom, it's real. I've just never had to explain it to anyone before. I'm not sure I did a good job, but I can try again in the morning, er, later today."

Maddie's face grew concerned again, "Sweetie, you've been dealing with this on your own for a year?"

"Well, not _alone_, technically…" his voice evasive.

Maddie thought back to her desperate phone calls earlier that night. Phone calls that seemed a lifetime ago now.

"Tucker. And Sam. They know, and they've been covering for you."

He sighed, "yeah, they've known from the beginning. And they've been helping me too." His eyes widened and he suddenly looked frantic "only _please_ don't tell their parents! Especially Sam's parents. They'd ground her for, like, eternity, and she'd never forgive me!"

Maddie chuckled. She wouldn't put it past Pamela and Jeremy to do exactly that. "We'll talk about that more later."

They let the conversation lapse.

Tick-tock-tick-tock. 3:54am.

"I'm assuming your father and sister are also in the dark about this whole Phantom thing."

"Actually Jazz knows. She figured it after Spectra -" he noticed her confused face and switched tactics, "after I'd had my powers a few weeks. But I didn't know she knew until later. Dad doesn't know."

Maddie nodded and smiled. "I always knew that girl was smart." She frowned again, "but we'll have to tell your father. I won't lie to him."

"Yeah, okay."

Another pause. 3:55am.

"So, you're alright with it then? With me being Phantom? You're not going to shoot me, or dissect me in the middle of the night?"

Maddie laughed again and looked at him. Oh, he was serious. "Sweetie, of course not. I'm still not sure I get what you're telling me, but I promise I won't shoot you or dissect you." Danny let a sigh of relief. Maddie continued, "I _will_, however, have to find some other suitable form of punishment for being late and wrecking the lab. And for cursing in front of your mother and not answering your cell phone when she called a billion times."

He let out another overly dramatic sigh, "Figured that was coming. Oh, and about the cell phone," he cringed as he pried a device encased in a mass of green sticky goo out of his pocket, "sorry about that, but it wasn't my fault, I swear. Also, the ghost zone doesn't get very good reception."

Maddie tsked, "We'll just add that to the list of discussion topics for later. Right now, I want to go to bed."

She stood up and held out an hand to help him up. "Whaddya say, ghost kid?"

Danny's face broke into a huge grin and he stood up too, "I'd say it sounds good to me."

The pair made their way up the stairs, Danny letting his mom wrap her arm around him.

They were in each in bed before the clock chimed four.

-o-

The End!

-o-

**A/N - Did you like it? If so, which ending was better? **

**Thanks for reading!**

**-o-**


	3. Ghosts go bump in the night part 2

**Ghosts go bump in the night - chapter 2**

A/N - The second version of this story, wherein Danny reveals himself to his mom was the preferred ending amongst my reviewers. I wasn't intending on writing a second chapter. Oh well, nothing like procrastinating on doing real work!

* * *

Maddie yawned and stretched her arms. Sitting up in bed she opened her eyes, only to shut them again against the glare of the sun streaming through her bedroom windows. She glanced at the clock on her night stand.

10:07am.

She groaned. She was usually such an early riser, rarely did she stay in bed past 7:30, if for no other reason than to make sure her children made it to school on time. For Jazz, that had never been a problem, but for Danny…

Danny.

Maddie thought back to the events of that morning. Danny was late and not answering his cell phone. Maddie had waited up for him. It was past 3am when there had been noises in the basement. She had gone down to investigate and seen…

Phantom.

Who then turned into Danny. Danny, who explained to his mom that he was half-ghost, that he was Danny Phantom. Had it been a dream? Was Danny really a half-ghost? Her doubts from the previous night came flooding back. It wasn't possible, couldn't be possible! And yet her son was convinced that he was indeed part ghost.

Realizing that the answers she wanted wouldn't come through her own ruminitions, Maddie pulled herself out of bed and grabbed her bathrobe. After a few cursory brushstrokes through her auburn hair, Maddie headed to Danny's room.

The door was ajar, so she peeked in, expecting to see her son sprawled out on the bed, still asleep after his late night.

The bed, however, was empty.

_Hmm_, though Maddie. _That's probably the first time I've seen him get up before me_. She chuckled. Maybe he was turning into another person.

Her stomach grumbled, so Maddie made her way down the stairs towards the kitchen. Her coffee mug was still on the table, surrounded by stains from her spill last night. She opened the pantry, searching for the fiber oats cereal, then changed her mind and went for the chocolate-os. She had a feeling it was going to be that kind of day, one that required comfort food, not health food. About to grab the milk from the fridge, Maddie heard a loud crash, followed by a word that sounded like 'fudge' but wasn't. There was another crash and it seemed to be coming from the direction of the lab. _Great, there better not be more ghosts._

Leaving behind her breakfast for the time being, Maddie walked down the flight of stairs to the laboratory. Struggling under a large box of broken pieces was Phantom. About a quarter of the lab appeared to have been cleaned, although for all she knew, Phantom had just shoved everything over to other parts of the lab. That wouldn't surprise her, considering Danny's idea of cleaning his room was usually to stuff everything into his closet. Teenage boys were all alike when it came to cleanliness. Although if her memory was correct, these two teenage boys were so alike as to be the same person.

"Danny? What are you doing?"

"Huh?" The box fell with another crash. Danny winced, "sorry. I was just trying to get a head start on cleaning the lab. I mean, I'm still in trouble for breaking curfew, right?"

"Yes young man, we'll discuss the full extent of your punishment. But for now, come on up and have some breakfast with me. And would you mind, uh, you know…" she faltered, not sure how to word it.

Phantom just gave her a confused look. "Would I mind doing what?"

"Transforming. It'll be easier for me if you're not a ghost. I mean, you can still do that right? I wasn't dreaming?"

"No, unfortunately it wasn't a dream," said Phantom as the rings enveloped his body just like last night, transforming him into her son, the face she recognized and loved.

At the sight of those blue eyes, tension Maddie didn't realize she'd had seeped out of her shoulders.

"Let's go eat."

* * *

Danny sat at the table while Maddie poured a second bowl of the chocolate-os.

Then she joined him at the table and the pair began shoveling down their cereal.

"Danny." He looked up as she said his name. "Danny, I want you to tell me everything.

Danny had completely abandoned his cereal and gaped at her. "Everything?" he sqeaked.

"Yes, sweetie, everything. I want to know more about how you became this way, I want you to explain why you've been endangering yourself and your friends, and I want to know why you never told me. Were you really that scared that you couldn't tell your own mother this huge part of your life?"

"Well, you guys were always talking about hunting ghosts and wasting ghosts. In the beginning, I tried to tell you a couple of times but dad would start ranting or you would get sidetracked. Although I was convinced you would figure it out with all of your equipment 'malfunctioning' around me and my 'clumsy' phase when I was first gaining control of my powers." He chuckled, but his eyes were sad. "Eventually I gained more control and it just became easier to keep it a secret. Then the Walker thing happened and you guys didn't just hate ghosts in general - you hated me in particular. And later, when the town finally started to treat me like a hero you guys," he paused, wiping at the water that had started to pool in his eyes, "you guys still hated my guts. And to add insult to injury Dad still had his delusional bromance with Vlad."

"Vlad? Danny, what does Vlad have to do you this, with you?"

"Nothing!" he said quickly, "it was, er, just an example, yeah" he finished lamely.

Hmm, she'd push that issue later. Right now, there was something more important to do, before anything else could be said. She took a deep breath. Maddie was good at a lot of things, shooting, fighting, baking cookies, to name a few. But apologizing and admitting to being wrong was not her strong suit. _That's probably why I had so much trouble accepting Phantom as anything but an evil ghost. I didn't want my first impressions to have been wrong. _But she had been wrong. And her son needed to hear that. Maddie reached across the table and clasped his hand in hers.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry. I was wrong and I see that now. But if you had only - " she caught herself. Redirecting the blame was not the answer, not the mature way to apologize. She tried again, "Danny, you're right. I didn't change my opinion of Phantom, even when the rest of Amity Park did. I was stubborn, and I was wrong. Sweetie, I do really love you. So does your father. Enough to get us through any sort of craziness, especially if it involves ghosts."

Danny smiled, "yeah, us Fentons have a knack for getting into some pretty crazy ghost stuff, huh."

"And speaking of crazy, I do really want to know everything. All the crazy that you've dealt with the past year and a half. Including whatever you're not telling me about Vlad."

"You sure Mom? I mean it's a lot of crazy, like it makes being a half-ghost seem normal."

"Yes, son. Please tell me."

So he did. He started with the accident, how he had activated the ghost while inside it, the pain he felt and the fear on Sam's and Tucker's faces when he reappeared with white hair and green eyes. How the fear was replaced by wonder and confusion when he reverted back to his human self.

He told her about the lunch lady ghost who attacked Sam for changing the menu to vegan, and about the Box ghost who always showed up at the most inopportune times. He mentioned something too about the two of them having a daughter in the future, but Maddie dismissed the notion that ghosts could reproduce.

Danny told her how his essay on the purple back gorilla (the one that snagged them the front page of genius magazine) was written while he has pursued by a metal ghost named Skulker. And that Skulker apparently had a girlfriend (where was he getting this stuff about ghostly relationships? ghosts don't have relationships!) named Ember, who controlled people with her music. Yes, it was the same Ember McClain that Jazz and the rest of Casper high had been obsessed with a year ago.

He spoke of a ghost that only children could see, and one that could change his appearance and liked to cause trouble. There was a ghost that could manipulate the weather, one that could manipulate plants, and one that could manipulate technology. There were ghosts that were also dragons, a ghost of Halloween, and a ghost whose obsession was friendship.

As he ticked off the ghost's he'd fought, Maddie wondered at the vast knowledge her son had. She'd been interested in ghosts her whole life. And yet, after only a year her fifteen year old son knew more about ghosts than she ever had.

He'd actually been in the ghost zone too, several times, and often with Sam and Tucker. Admittedly, she was a tad bit jealous. To have built a portal to the ghost zone and never gone inside themselves? Where had been her sense of adventure? Her only experience with the ghost zone was when the city had been thrust into it during the Pariah Dark incident.

He glossed over that particular incident as he told his story, only filling in parts she didn't already know. He did take more time to explain how the ghost zone's warden, Walker, framed him for kidnapping the mayor, only because he'd escaped from his prison and helped a giant ghost wolf that only spoke Esparanto.

"You know Danny, I'm fluent in Esparanto." He looked at her disbelieving. "Really," he asked.

"Jes mi estas. Mi lernis Esperanton en kolegio."

His mouth fell open, then shut again. "Wow! I didn't know that! That's pretty cool, and it beats Tucker's limited vocabulary. Next time he shows up maybe you can translate for me!" He seemed excited about the idea, though Maddie still had reservations about being friendly with any ghost, especially a giant wolf. However, she was starting to realize that perhaps she would be wise to trust her son on more ghostly matters. His knowledge was putting her "expertise" to shame.

* * *

Her stomach grumbled again and she looked down at her now soggy chocolate-os then up at the clock. 12:28pm. Danny had been talking non-stop for the last two hours. Her head was starting to spin from the information overload and the lack of food and coffee so far that day.

"Sweetie, how about I make lunch while you take a break and go shower, hmm?"

"Mmm-kay," he replied. He pushed his chair back from the table, the legs screeching on the linoleum floor, and headed upstairs.

Maddie started a bot of water boiling and pulled out a box of macaroni and cheese. Yes, comfort food was definitely the theme of the day. She was mulling over the things her son had told her, when the doorbell rang. She opened the door to see Tucker and Sam, looking anxious.

"Uh, hi Mrs. Fenton. Is Danny home?" asked Sam. "We were going to hang out this afternoon, but he isn't answering his cell phone."

"No cell phone, hmm. Welcome to my life." She invited the two teens into the house. "He's in the shower. You two are welcome to join us for lunch, but Danny's grounded this afternoon for breaking curfew." _And fighting ghosts without telling me, but I bet you two already knew about that,_ she thought.

"Got it. What are you making Mrs. F? It smells great, though I do detect an absense of meat on today's lunch menu," said Tucker, as he waltzed towards the kitchen. Sam just shook her head, "ignore him, that's what I do most of the time. What kind of cheese?"

"The heavily processed kind. Not a hint of real dairy."

"Alright, I'm in too. Need any help in the kitchen while we wait for Mr. Sleepyhead to finish his shower?" asked Sam.

"Why don't you cut up some fruit, and I'll have Tucker grill up a couple of hot-dogs." replied Maddie as the two women walked towards the kitchen where Tucker was waiting.

"These aren't the hot dogs that bite back are they Mrs. F?" Tucker asked nervously.

Maddie grinned. With Jack gone, she had taken the liberty to clear out anything suspiciously green or uncharacteristically alive from their fridge. She'd have to go through it again tomorrow to get rid of any anti-ecto material "No, these are store bought and haven't been subjected to any Fenton inventions." Tucker looked relieved and began sifting through the refrigerator contents.

Danny was surprised to see his friends there when he returned, but very happy to have them. She finished prepping the meal in the kitchen while Danny caught his friends up on the happenings of last night and this morning.

She could hear Danny mumbling, then a pause. "YOU WHAT!?" screeched Sam. "Danny, you need to be more careful, I mean did she see...oh." Another pause. "And?" prodded Tucker. "She's cool with it. I think. She hasn't shot me at least and I don't think she will. I spent the morning telling her about, well, everything."

Maddie walked into the dining room at that point, to see Sam raise an eyebrow at Danny. "Well, okay, mostly everything, I - mom, uh, hey."

Maddie turned towards Sam and Tucker, who looked worried. "He's right. No shooting. Besides _someone_ wrecked the lab last night and most of the weapons down there." Danny sunk down in his seat. "I don't intend on telling your parents what you two have been up to the past year. However, don't think I won't change my mind if I think you're in danger and they need to know. But for now," she winked at them, "I get to be the cool mom." Tucker and Sam laughed at that while Danny merely groaned.

* * *

After lunch, Tucker and Sam left, leaving Danny alone with his mother once again.

"Let's go to the couch," suggested Maddie, "it's far more comfortable than these chairs." Danny simply nodded and followed her to the living room.

The was a pause. The grandfather clock in the hall read 2:10pm.

"Danny, I know there's stuff you haven't told me. And I'm guessing it's stuff that's harder to talk about." He looked away. "Let's start with Vlad. You let his name slip earlier."

"Okay, but you have to promise to not let him know that you know and definitely not that I was the one who told you." Her curiosity piqued, Maddie leaned in towards her son.

"He's a half-ghost too. The Wisconsin ghost, the one that overshadowed dad at the reunion and sent those animals after us in Colorado, that was Vlad. Also known as Vlad Plasmius."

Whatever Maddie had been expecting, it wasn't that.

First her son, now her husband's best friend! Just how many half-ghosts are there?

"Just two. Well technically three, but I'm not quite ready to talk about her yet." Oh, apparently she'd asked that question aloud, unless her son was also telepathic. At this point, she wouldn't be surprised. At his request she postponed her question about this third hybrid and returned the conversation to Vlad.

"Do you know how Vlad got his ghost powers?"

"Yeah, there was an accident while y'all were at college. Dad put Diet Coke in the ecto filtrator and your proto portal blew up in Vlad's face. Sort of like me in the Fenton portal"

"Hmm, diet coke? That's why aspartame showed up on the ectoacne scans," Maddie said, more to herself than to Danny. "Wait, but you were the one that figured that out! How could you possibly have known?"

Danny squirmed a bit, "well, when you know a time ghost…" At her blank look, he continued. "Clockwork is a ghost that sort of controls time, and I convinced him to let me go to the past to find a way to cure Sam and Tucker after Vlad infected them." He said something else about an alternate timeline where Jack was a ghost instead, but he fixed it, so it was all good. Maddie, however, was still trying to comprehend the "let me go to the past" thing. For all the ghostly weirdness, there was time travel too? She must have heard him wrong.

"Danny, when you say that you went to the past, do you mean literally or figuratively?"

"Huh?" Maddie rolled her eyes. Her son wasn't doing that great in English and it showed.

"Are you telling me you actually went back in time, or is it just some metaphor or expression?" she clarified.

"It's crazy sounding, I know. But I actually traveled in time. Although Clockwork reset everything after I screwed up the timeline, so I guess technically, in this timeline I wasn't there in the past, even though I did go. Whoa, that's sort of trippy." Danny paused, lost in thought. "Hmm, does that mean I existed outside of time, like Dan? Do I exist now because he fixed the timeline or regardless of what happened in the past, since I was the one who meddled? Heck, what about Vlad's little power trip through time. That didn't change anything in the history books, I wonder why? Man, I really don't get this time travel stuff."

Danny shuddered and looked at his mom, as if hoping she'd be able to explain it to him. Well, the boy was out of luck. Her passion was para-physics, not metaphysics and certainly not something so sci-fi as time travel. Although two days ago she would have considered the notion of half-ghosts to be 'too sci-fi' to be real. A million new questions were forming in her head, but she decided to start with an easy one.

"Who's Dan? Why does he exist outside of time, what does that mean?"

Danny shuddered again and dropped his gaze. "Dan is me." he said quietly. "Me from a future where I cheat on a test, everyone I love dies, and I turn evil," he added bitterly. "But I beat him and changed the timeline. I didn't cheat and I _won't_ turn into him." He steeled his eyes and looked at his mother. "I promise."

Maddie wasn't sure what to say. First trips to the past, now evil future selves? And this last adventure really seemed to have made an impact on Danny. It was actually a little strange to see him to determined and focused. Over the past few months, she had grown acustomed to her son skipping class, coming home late, and failing his classes. She had thought he was lazy and irresponsible. Oh, how wrong she had been. He had simply been taking on responsibilities in other parts of his life. Parts she had been blind to until now.

"There isn't an alternate timeline where we already knew about your powers is there?" She asked jokingly.

"Well, not exactly, but there was this one time that everyone knew," Danny launched into a story of last summer vacation with Freakshow, the gothapooloza guy, and something called a reality gauntlet.

"If you knew we'd still love you, why'd you wait to tell us?" Maddie asked when the story finished.

"Ugh, I don't know. I thought about it, but it just seemed easier to keep it all a secret. I'd just been keeping it secret for so long…" he trailed off.

"You didn't want things to change."

"Yeah. I guess. I don't know, maybe I should have kept y'all in the know. It would have made this a little less excruciating.

A glance at the clock. 3:43pm. Twelve hours since her worlds axis had tilted. But with the talks with her son, her world was slowly righting itself.

"That's quite the life you've been leading."

"Hehe, welcome to the crazy club. I'll get you a T-shirt."

* * *

**A/N - thanks for reading. Shout-out to KimuraSato for the last line (read Doctor Dash, it's chock-full of adorable cuteness and the inspiration for my profile pic). And thanks to everyone who reviewed (MsFrizzle, Invader Johnny, seantriana, pieluver1800, HEEEY) or otherwise favorited/followed my stories "It's 3am do you know where your son is?" and "Ghosts go bump in the night".**


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